This invention relates to distributing a predetermined amount of feed to animals and in particular to an improved method for the supplementary feeding of cottonseed to animals.
Cottonseed is a very good supplementary feed that is commonly used where cottonseed is readily available. Cattle are fed approximately one kilogram per day, twice per week. The feed is normally fed out in measured lots across the paddock to ensure that gorging is kept to a minimum. Cottonseed is a very nutritious feed material for the animals but it has major drawbacks. To maximize the benefits, it must be fed in a measured ration and it is very difficult to handle due to the presence of cotton lint around each seed. This lint creates enormous relative inertia, which results in clogging and compaction within the storage or dispensing bin. This makes it very difficult to dispense or xe2x80x9cfeed outxe2x80x9d using conventional bulk mobile feeders.
The normal method of dispensing the cottonseed feed is to shovel the feed into and out of a truck or trailer. An alternative method is using 20 litre drums with the tops removed to measure and hold a predetermined amount of cottonseed. The drums are then transported into the paddocks to be emptied out onto the ground.
A mobile spreader is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,648. This device comprises a tractor and a detachable hopper. The latter is defined by tapering front and rear walls and has a breadth permitting it to fit in between the rear wheels of the tractor. There is an elongate spreader opening in the bottom of the hopper, and an agitator adjacent to the mechanism driven by a roller to be brought into contact with one of the rear wheels of the tractor.
Pivots at the front wall of the hopper are attachable to brackets at the tractor, and are located so the point of gravity of the hopper tends to tilt it away from the tractor. In its furthermost tilted position the rear wall will be substantially parallel to the ground, and the hopper may then be used to scoop up particulate material to be spread. A pressure fluid actuator raises the hopper to an upright position, in which finally the roller contacts the rear wheel of the tractor and drives the agitator.
Another type of mobile spreader is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,315. This type is drawn by a tractor and includes a hopper mounted on a roller. The roller is provided with a jarring strip which imparts a jolt to the hopper on each revolution of the roller. This jolting action prevents bridging of the material in the hopper, knocking the hung-up material down into the lower portion of the hopper where an agitator and an impellor further stir up the material.
The cooperative effect of the jarring strip, the agitator and the impellor is to provide a steady supply of material, even when moist material is being distributed. The rate of application of the material is controlled by a slidable apertured plate disposed across an opening in the bottom of the hopper. The spreader may be selectively provided with a rake, a floater plate, and a spiker.
The spiker may be attached in front of the roller to open the turf to receive the material, or behind the roller to work the applied material into the turf. In addition, the spiker aerates the turf. The spreader is provided with a set of reverse pick-up points as well as the normal pick-up points to permit the spreader to be drawn in a backward or forward orientation, respectively, by a tractor. This permits the spreader to be used for applying an unusually wide variety of treatments to the turf.
Liquid dispensers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,271 are also a part of the art. These devices include a mobile spreader tank to contain the liquid manure and adapted to be drawn by a tractor. A frame is supported by the three-point hitch of the tractor, and a series of soil working elements are mounted on the frame and are adapted to penetrate the soil when the frame is lowered.
A delivery tube for the liquid manure is positioned behind each soil-working element, and a flexible conduit connects each delivery tube with a valve-controlled outlet in the tank. The liquid manure is delivered through the conduit system to the delivery tubes by an auger located within the tank, or alternately, by pressurising the spreader tank.
All of the above devices struggle to overcome the problems of spreading cottonseed. They cannot deal with the nature of the cottonseed as a feed product. They also do not seal well and therefore wastage of the feed occurs.
It may be difficult to dispense a predetermined amount of feed in a paddock as the dispenser may open by itself at intervals which cannot be controlled by a user.
Overfeeding of livestock is wasteful and may lead to sickness or lack of condition and therefore reduced prices at market.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cottonseed feeder which at least partially overcomes or ameliorates the above-mentioned disadvantages or provides the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example.
According to one aspect of the present invention a cottonseed feeder is provided having
(a) a feed hopper with at least one angled sidewall, having a lower opening and an upper opening,
(b) a baffle member disposed within the hopper,
(c) a revolving agitator disposed within the hopper,
(d) a vibrator to reduce the compression of the feed within the hopper and
(e) a dispensing means for dispensing the feed from the hopper wherein the dispensing means comprises
(i) a feed chamber having an entry-opening and an exit-opening, the entry-opening in communication with the lower opening of the feed hopper,
(ii) an entry-opening shutter adjacent the entry-opening, said entry-opening shutter moveable between a first position where the entry-opening shutter blocks the entry-opening and a second free position where feed may flow into the feed chamber,
(iii) an exit-opening shutter adjacent the exit-opening moveable between a first position where the exit-opening shutter blocks the exit-opening and a second free position where feed disposed within the feed chamber may flow out of the feed chamber and
(iv) a connecting member associated with the entry-opening shutter and the exit-opening shutter wherein the entry-opening shutter and the exit-opening shutter are linked such that movement of the entry-opening shutter from its first position to its second position coincides with the movement of the exit-opening shutter from its second position to its first position.
The cottonseed feeder may preferably also have a hydraulic ram to move the entry-opening shutter and the exit-opening shutter between their first and second positions.
The baffle member may preferably be a mesh member having a plurality of openings, the mesh member being large enough to allow flow of feed into the feed chamber and reduce the compaction of the feed within the feed hopper.
The agitator may preferably comprise
(a) a central hub member rotating around a substantially horizontal axis,
(b) a rotating member associated with the central hub and
(c) a plurality of projecting members radiating from the rotating member, said projecting members spaced around the periphery of the rotating member,
wherein rotation of the agitator at least partially disturbs the feed disposed within the feed hopper.
The agitator may also preferably comprise a horizontally rotating central metal tube or rod with a plurality of offset metal posts mounted at right angles to the central tube or rod. Each metal post may suitably have a metal paddle mounted on the end furthest from the connection of the metal posts to the central tube or rod to aid in the disturbance to the cottonseed.
The vibrator may preferably comprise a 12 volt electric motor (either AC or DC), driving a horizontally mounted shaft with an offset weight on one end to create a vibration. The motor and shaft may preferably be mounted to the metal hopper to effectively transmit the vibrations to the hopper and thus to the feed contained in the hopper.
The walls of the hopper may preferably have different angles of inclination to the horizontal in order to lower the degree of compaction or blocking of the cottonseed in the hopper. A first endwall may preferably have an angle of inclination of between 50xc2x0 and 55xc2x0 to the horizontal. A second endwall may preferably have an angle of between 37xc2x0 and 42xc2x0 to the horizontal.
The cottonseed feeder may preferably be mounted on a trailer, truck or the like to facilitate the transport of the feeder to the required paddock or location.